ill-starred
by akigay
Summary: The stars were as beautiful as Yukiteru remembered them, but after 10,000 years his memory had gone fuzzy.


This is a prologue so it probably doesn't make much sense. I'll hopefully be posting the first chapter pretty soon and that'll explain things a little more. This is my first fic here so I'd appreciate feedback! Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy!

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><p>It was night, but for once the darkness didn't feel thick and suffocating. The air was warm, rather than a stiff, constant cold, and moved in currents of gentle wind that made the ends of Yukiteru's long dark hair twitch restlessly at his waist. Another boy walked beside him, and occasionally their shoulders would brush. Yukiteru kept his eyes fixed downward; watching his bare feet repeatedly fall, one in front of the other, onto the sidewalk. The other boy was looking upward, toward the subtle blackness of the night sky. The sky was smooth, cloudless, instead of an endless, abysmal black, it was stained gray by the city lights. The even color was only interrupted by the stars that freckled the hollow cheeks of the sky; their light easily broke through the surface, tiny pinpricks that twinkled brilliantly against the dark backdrop. The stars were just as beautiful as Yukiteru remembered them.<p>

"There isn't a single cloud in the sky." The other boy finally spoke. "It's a perfect night to see the stars." His voice was just how Yukiteru remembered it; smooth and sure. The way everything he said was punctuated with confidence had Yukiteru hanging on each word, made it hard to doubt him. _Just like before, when he said he wanted to protect me._

For the first time, Yukiteru allowed his eyes to lift from his feet and travel upwards, until they fell on a pair of vermillion eyes that belonged to the boy beside him. This boy, Akise Aru, seemed to glow more intensely than any of the stars scattered across the shell of the sky. It wasn't just the way his alabaster skin and pale silver hair stood out against the darkness, but when Yukiteru's eyes finally found him, after thousands of years of looking into nothing but static darkness, he looked more radiant than any star ever could.

Yukiteru came to a sudden halt, his eyes had found their way back to his feet, but the image had become distorted. The shapes blurred and colors melted into one another until the world became a watery smudge, and then the tears fell. He shuddered, clutching at his tattered cloak, creasing the shadowy fabric.

"Yukiteru-kun? Is something wrong?" Akise asked, pausing a few steps ahead.

Yukiteru stumbled forward, his vision blurring in and out of focus as tears fell and new ones swelled in his eyes. Blindly he reached out, and his fingers caught the front of Akise's shirt.

"Akise-kun, I…" his lips trembled, and the words caught in his throat. "I…I..."

"…I know, Yukiteru-kun." In an instant he was swallowed into Akise's arms as he pulled him against his chest. "I've missed you too." He spoke softly against his ear. At those words Yukiteru sank further into his embrace and began to sob. Akise remained as he was, arms locked securely around Yukiteru's shoulders, until the tremors rippling through his body calmed. Yukiteru allowed his eyes to close and felt the world melt beneath his feet until all he could feel was Akise. Akise, the best friend he had lost thousands of years ago, the one who had selflessly sacrificed himself to save him from a dead end future. He was here again, and he was so close.

But something was wrong. His ribcage felt unnaturally still against his cheek. Even like this, with his face pressed to his chest he couldn't detect even the faintest throb of his heart. _A heartbeat…that's right, I forgot._

The stars were as beautiful as Yukiteru remembered them, but after 10,000 years his memory had gone fuzzy.

Yukiteru opened his eyes and Akise was gone. The darkness had consumed him, along with the world around them. Thick, suffocating darkness. He blinked a few times, to affirm it wasn't just the inside of his eyelids that he was seeing, but he could feel it all around him. The feeling had become familiar by now. It clung to him, weighing down his limbs, endless abysmal black that drowned the stars, snuffing out every hint of light or warmth that had existed just moments ago. The stiff, cold air settled in around him, and he fell to his knees as once again he was swallowed into the shadows.


End file.
